Agave

[Steveruch]

What does agave bring to beer?
I'm doing a black IPA next and don't have quite enough ingredients to hit an IPA original gravity and was considering adding 6-8 points with agave.

 

[hotbeer]

Fermentable sugar.

I use to use agave syrup/nectar for priming sugar. I don't know that it brought anything else with it besides sugar to ferment.

What form of agave are you asking about?

 

[Steveruch]

Fermentable sugar.

I use to use agave syrup/nectar for priming sugar. I don't know that it brought anything else with it besides sugar to ferment.

What form of agave are you asking about?

Whatever is darkest.

 

[cmac62]

With an IPA, I doubt you will be able to notice any flavor it night add to a light lager or something similar. The Agave will ferment all the way so consider mouth feel and so on when making up the recipe.

 

[Steveruch]

With an IPA, I doubt you will be able to notice any flavor it night add to a light lager or something similar. The Agave will ferment all the way so consider mouth feel and so on when making up the recipe.

That's what I was kind of thinking, but it's cheaper to ask on here than to use some and find out the hard way.

 

[AlexKay]

I don’t think you’d taste it even in a light lager. I made a tripel with a ton of agave, and it was indistinguishable from using dextrose. So agave away!

 

[InspectorJon]

I think for fermenting, agave it is just expensive sugar. In relatively small quantities I doubt it will make the finished product taste or feel perceptibly different than table sugar. If you want to do something a little different maybe try making some dark invert sugar and add that to the black IPA. You can make a small batch while the beer is brewing and add it at the end of the boil. Invert sugar was commonly part of historic IPA.

 

[JAReeves]

I use agave for specific beers that I brew because the sugar imparts a cactus fruit-pepper flavor. It is subtle and will probably be lost in a black IPA or anything that is heavily hopped. I use it as a priming sugar/adjunct for my chile beer, where it adds the cactus fruit element, but the peppery aspect is lost to the jalapeños. I have also used it in a hibiscus saison, where it boosted the peppery quality of the yeast expression, and added a cactus sweetness to balance the hibiscus tart.

 

[RPh_Guy]

The amount of flavor definitely depends on the brand, which is why people are reporting different experiences.

 

[InspectorJon]

Just saw this today

 

[JAReeves]

This is what I normally use. There are several available at my local Ralph's, though.

 

[Dr_Jeff]

Several years ago, a friend had a Corona summer variety pack that had some agave beers in it, those were his favorites.

 

[Steveruch]

Now I'm thinking to just borrow some base grain from another recipe I have planned and boost the O G that way.